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Portmeirion

Portmeirion is in Gwynedd, Wales.

Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in Italianate style town.

The village is in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, on the estuary of the River Dwyryd, 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Porthmadog. Portmeirion has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "The Village" in the 1960s television show The Prisoner.

History

Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Portmeirion's architect, denied repeated claims that his design reflects the fishing village of Portofino on the Italian Riviera. Instead, he stated that he wanted to pay tribute to the atmosphere of the Mediterranean. He did, however, draw on a love of the Italian village, saying, "How should I not have fallen for Portofino?

Williams-Ellis designed and constructed the village between 1925 and 1975. He incorporated fragments of demolished buildings, including works by several other architects.

In 1931 Williams-Ellis bought from his uncle, Sir Osmond Williams, the Victorian crenellated mansion Castell Deudraeth to incorporate it into the Portmeirion hotel complex. Still, the intervention of the war and other problems prevented this. Nevertheless, Williams-Ellis considered the Castell to be "the largest and most imposing single building on the Portmeirion Estate" and sought ways to incorporate it.

The village of Portmeirion has been a source of inspiration for writers and television producers. Noël Coward wrote Blithe Spirit while staying in the Fountain 2 (Upper Fountain) suite at Portmeirion. George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells were also early visitors.

In 1956 the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and other famous guests included Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. In the late 1950s, Stanley Long, a former RAF photographer, created a collectable stereoview series through Vista Screen.

The village has many connections to the Beatles. Brian Epstein was a frequent visitor, along with Paul McCartney, and George Harrison spent his 50th birthday there in 1993.

Musician Jools Holland visited whilst filming for the TV music show The Tube and was so impressed that he has had his studio and other buildings at his home in Blackheath built to a design inspired by Portmeirion.

When visiting Portmeirion, you cannot ignore the importance of how unique, remarkable, and differentiated it is and how the memory of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis will live for many years to come.